According to Ken Ofori-Atta, minister of finance, one of the government’s signature initiatives, the One District One Factory initiative, has generated over 160,000 direct and indirect jobs.
On Monday, July 31, 2023, he presented the government’s mid-year fiscal policy review of the budget statement and economic strategy. He noted that as of June 2023, a total of 126 factories were operating in 58 districts across the nation, and that job creation efforts were focused on the nation’s teeming youth unemployment rate.
“Mr. Speaker, in line with the government’s unwavering commitment to industrialisation, the implementation of the flagship One District, One Factory (1D1F) Initiative is on course. As of June 2023, 126 factories were operational nationwide. Over 160,000 direct and indirect jobs have been created, especially for the youth who have been mobilised to establish agro-processing factories in 58 districts,“ Ofori-Atta said.
The 1D1F program is a privately-led initiative that aims to create the right conditions so that businesses can establish factories and production units in the various regions of the nation with the help of financial institutions and other government organizations.
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The goal of the policy is to transform Ghana’s economy from one that depends on the import and export of raw materials to one that is centered on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed goods by converting the raw materials, which are primarily found in the country’s 275 districts, into finished or semi-finished goods.
Relatively, Ofori-Atta claims that Ghana has economic stability indicators such as lower inflation, more foreign exchange reserves, and less erratic exchange rates.
He stated that the nation is close to overcoming the obstacles that have plagued the economy.
“The economy is showing signs of recovery. The exchange rate has stabilised, inflation has softened, and interest rates have declined since December 2022,” he stressed.
